ABUJA, Nigeria — The Military Pensions Board has defended its pension calculations following an October 13 meeting with protesting retirees, saying it applies a separate pension structure approved by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, rather than simply using serving personnel's total salaries.
Punch's October 14 report says the meeting ended without a concrete agreement. Veterans continued to question the relationship between announced increases and amounts received. The explanation identifies the disputed method; it does not settle individual claims of underpayment.
Why do military pension calculations remain disputed? The board says pensions use an approved pension-specific earnings base and a percentage linked to service. Veterans question whether their payments reflect the announced adjustments. Resolving an individual case requires the applicable circular, the retiree's pension record and a breakdown separating monthly pension from arrears.
The earnings base is the central question
A percentage only becomes a cash amount when it is applied to a defined figure. A claim that a pension should equal 90% therefore needs to identify precisely which earnings qualify and which official schedule governs the calculation.
The Authority's account of the meeting quotes Air Vice Marshal Mikail Abdulraheem explaining that pensionable emoluments and the pension-specific structure determine the result. It reports his position that the commission issues the relevant circulars and the board applies them.
That distinction explains why using a serving officer's total pay can produce a different answer. It does not prove that every calculation made by the board is correct. The appropriate earnings base and its correct application must both be established.
What the service percentage means
The Authority reports Abdulraheem describing a framework starting at 40% after 10 years, increasing by two percentage points for each additional year, and reaching 90% after 35 years.
The table below shows only the arithmetic of that explanation. It is not a certified entitlement table or a substitute for the applicable circular, particularly for exceptional retirement categories.
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Abuja Pension Dispute: How the Board Explains Pension Pay Calculations
14 oct. 2026
14 oct. 2026
5 min read
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ABUJA, Nigeria — The Military Pensions Board has defended its pension calculations following an October 13 meeting with protesting retirees, saying it applies a separate pension structure approved by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, rather than simply using serving personnel's total salaries.
Punch's October 14 report says the meeting ended without a concrete agreement. Veterans continued to question the relationship between announced increases and amounts received. The explanation identifies the disputed method; it does not settle individual claims of underpayment.
Why do military pension calculations remain disputed? The board says pensions use an approved pension-specific earnings base and a percentage linked to service. Veterans question whether their payments reflect the announced adjustments. Resolving an individual case requires the applicable circular, the retiree's pension record and a breakdown separating monthly pension from arrears.
The earnings base is the central question
A percentage only becomes a cash amount when it is applied to a defined figure. A claim that a pension should equal 90% therefore needs to identify precisely which earnings qualify and which official schedule governs the calculation.
The Authority's account of the meeting quotes Air Vice Marshal Mikail Abdulraheem explaining that pensionable emoluments and the pension-specific structure determine the result. It reports his position that the commission issues the relevant circulars and the board applies them.
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That distinction explains why using a serving officer's total pay can produce a different answer. It does not prove that every calculation made by the board is correct. The appropriate earnings base and its correct application must both be established.
What the service percentage means
The Authority reports Abdulraheem describing a framework starting at 40% after 10 years, increasing by two percentage points for each additional year, and reaching 90% after 35 years.
The table below shows only the arithmetic of that explanation. It is not a certified entitlement table or a substitute for the applicable circular, particularly for exceptional retirement categories.
Years of service | Arithmetic under the stated framework | Resulting percentage |
10 | Starting percentage | 40% |
20 | 40% + (10 × 2 percentage points) | 60% |
30 | 40% + (20 × 2 percentage points) | 80% |
35 | 40% + (25 × 2 percentage points) | 90% |
Illustration only: if the applicable monthly pensionable base were ₦200,000, a 90% factor would produce ₦180,000. If the correct base were ₦300,000, the same factor would produce ₦270,000. Neither base is asserted to apply to these veterans. The example shows why agreeing on a percentage cannot resolve a disagreement about the amount to which it applies.
What the veterans dispute
Punch reports that veterans challenged differences between expected and received payments, including comparisons involving serving officers' earnings. Abdulraheem rejected that starting point and said approved adjustments were already incorporated into the pension structure.
This creates two questions: whether the correct schedule has been selected and whether it has been correctly applied to each retiree. Adding a headline salary increase again to a figure that already incorporates it could count the adjustment twice. Whether that happened in any disputed comparison requires the underlying documents.
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The reports do not establish that a particular claimed amount is legally payable. Equally, the board's defence of its framework does not resolve every complaint about an individual record.
Monthly pension and arrears need separate lines
The board had announced revised rates and arrears before the protest. NAN's October 2 report, carried by Peoples Gazette, attributed the announcement to spokesman Aliyu Mohammed and said payments would begin reaching accounts from that date.
BusinessDay's coverage noted that the statement did not disclose specific new rates or the total arrears amount. An announcement that payment has been processed cannot establish that every recipient received the correct sum.
A recurring monthly pension, an increase in that monthly amount and accumulated arrears are three different figures. Comparing them without labels can produce an apparent shortfall that cannot be meaningfully assessed.
For example, a hypothetical ₦10,000 monthly increase covering three unpaid months would produce ₦30,000 in arrears before any applicable adjustments. That ₦30,000 would not itself identify the recipient's full monthly pension. The effective date and period covered are essential parts of the calculation.
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What an individual breakdown should show
A useful written explanation should identify:
The circular number, effective date and applicable pension category.
The pensionable earnings base and service percentage used.
The previous and revised gross monthly pension.
Each arrears period and the amount already paid for it.
Any deductions, shown separately from the gross entitlement.
The Authority reports that the board invited the relevant authorities to explain the figures and asked retirees to supply supporting records. That review, rather than a comparison of unexplained bank credits, is the next practical test of the competing positions.
The unresolved issue is whether documented differences arise from the approved rules, the records used, or errors requiring correction. Publication of the applicable circular and individual breakdowns would allow those possibilities to be examined separately.
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